It seemed the largest fire in modern California history suddenly got a conscience.

Though flames surrounded the beloved mountain resort of Julian and devoured an untold number of homes, fire crews kept the inferno from swallowing the charming two-block stretch of downtown restaurants, specialty shops and historic buildings that give the town its sentimental value.

Perhaps firefighters who saved the heart of Julian had extra resolve because of the loss of one of their own, Steven Rucker, who died Wednesday trying to protect a Julian home.

Like so many of her neighbors, Vee Lumpkins was heartsick yesterday when she learned the fire destroyed her house and others on Canyon Drive in Kentwood in the Pines, about two miles east of Julian. She grieved for her seven cats and eight doves. But the sight of downtown, untouched, was heartening.

"We were so close (to) losing Main Street, Julian, and what a joy to see it was still there," said Lumpkins, who had lived in her home for 28 years. "Julian is a resilient town. Most of these people will bounce back."

The temperature dropped and winds picked up significantly in Julian and neighboring communities yesterday. Electricity was still out and the area was mostly deserted except for an occasional firetruck, sheriff's cruiser and handfuls of residents who had remained or sneaked in despite evacuation orders.

Residents were not allowed to return to their homes.

There was an outpouring of gratitude to firefighters. The community joined in mourning Rucker, who was with the Novato Fire Protection District.

Wynola resident Larry Bowen, 55, posted a sign at Orchard Lane and Highway 78 that said: "THIS STREET RE-NAMED RUCKER RIDGE IN HONOR OF STEVE RUCKER WHO GAVE HIS LIFE DEFENDING IT."

A handwritten sign that hung on the Miner's Diner in downtown Julian said, "THANK YOU, FIREFIGHTERS."

Bret Hutchinson, son of a former Julian fire chief, Larry Hutchinson, saw that firefighters had saved his parents' home on Van Duesen Road. He then spent yesterday morning at one of downtown Julian's three pay phones, calling neighbors to pass along good news.

"Every single house made it," Hutchinson said. "They had a five-truck strike team. They saved everything. They did an awesome job."

The phone at the Julian fire station was constantly busy as residents called, desperately seeking information about their homes and neighborhoods. The situation had been bleak.

"When I arrived yesterday, I saw flames on three fronts," said John Renshaw of the U.S. Forest Service. "(Firefighters) should be proud of what they accomplished."

Elsewhere in the town, power lines dangled in the roads; trees were blackened.

Still standing in neighboring Pine Hills: the Pine Hills Lodge and Camp Marston, run by the YMCA of San Diego.

Still, there was plenty of loss.

The Julian White House, a bed and breakfast on Blue Jay Drive, was reduced to rubble. The only thing left was a plastic table and chairs and a white picket fence in the back.

Lumpkins was one of the few who couldn't bear to evacuate.

On Tuesday night, the well-known Julian resident slept alone in her car; on Wednesday she spent the night on the floor of Julian Town Hall. Firefighters lent her a cot, and the next day a deputy drove her to her house. All that stood was chicken wire, where her doves had lived.

Ted and Margaret Elmgren built their house in the Pines on Ridgewood Drive 23 years ago. All they saw when they returned yesterday was their chimney.

"All the houses are gone on that street," Margaret Elmgren said.

"The view is still there," Ted Elmgren said.

The couple, married for 57 years, escaped with family pictures, financial and legal records, their medication and a crock pot. They laughed when they said that, and couldn't say why they took that.

"We just looked at each other and said it's gone, everything," the husband said.